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Baby dies in womb: mom in coma

By
Renuka Singh

Story Created:
Apr 7, 2011 at 11:59 PM ECT

Story Updated:
Apr 7, 2011 at 11:59 PM ECT

A mother remains in critical condition at the Mount Hope Medical Sciences Complex after being slowly poisoned by the dead baby she was carrying. The family of 34-year-old Michelle Chang-Ragoonath, who slipped into a coma after undergoing an emergency Caesarian section on Sunday, is demanding an autopsy on the still-born to determine the time of death and so too, determine which hospital is responsible for the situation.

"We were told that the baby died in her and remained there for two to three days even though she went to her doctor on Thursday and was told that everything was fine," a female relative said in a telephone interview yesterday.

The family said Chang-Ragoonath saw her personal doctor at a private hospital in St Augustine and complained that the baby was not moving. They said the doctor performed an ultrasound and informed her that "everything was fine", but by Sunday, Chang-Ragoonath had a high fever, was coughing and having difficulty breathing.

They were told to go to the Mount Hope Hospital.

A medical source close to the case said Chang-Ragoonath was admitted on Sunday night but the hospital had no medical history since her private doctor never provided any of the patient's medical files.

"We stabilised her and then realised that the baby was not moving so we performed the emergency surgery. That was when we removed the baby and realised that something was terribly wrong," the source said, revealing that based on the level of sepsis (poisoning) within Chang-Ragoonath's system, the baby would have been dead for two to three days.

"That was why the hospital wanted to do the autopsy as well, it'll show that when she was admitted the baby was already dead a few days ago and was poisoning her," she said.

Chang-Ragoonath's family said they were told she was suffering from severe organ failure and that she would be placed on a ventilator.

"They just told us that they inserted a tube into her lungs and drained one of them and would repeat the procedure to see if there was any improvement, but we just hoping for the best right now," a male relative said.

"But we trying to contact her doctor (name given) and he not answering his phone, he not talking to us, he going about his business seeing other patients. Why didn't he say something was wrong? Why just send us to the hospital three days later, but not tell us the baby was already dead?" he asked.

The family said they would further pursue the matter after the autopsy findings are revealed today.